Neighborhood News!

Non-biting Midges - Chironomidae Family

Unfortunately, my husband and I had the flu for the past 10 days or so and we haven't been outside much. We also had 6.50" of rain in the past two weeks, that kept me from exploring. However, warm and dry weather followed the rainy days, and I managed to go for a couple of walks recently, and saw some very cool stuff!

The Open Slope

Every year at this time, the Non-biting Midges put on a show at the tops of some of the pine trees on the open sunny slope (pictured above) in my neighborhood. The slope is bordered by the North Yuba River, from which the midges have recently hatched. The swarm moves up and down and sideways, sometimes congregating in a dense mass, sometimes spreading out. It is quite beautiful to watch, especially if it's backlit by the sun!

Adult Midges lay their eggs in shallow waters. The eggs sink to the bottom. In a few days the larvae hatch out of the eggs and burrow into mud, or construct a small tube in which they live, feed and develop. The aquatic larvae feed on detritus in the water and are a great source of food for fish and aquatic insects. After 2-7 weeks, the larvae turn into pupae. The pupae then swim to the surface and the adults emerge from their pupal exuviae (cast off skin). They then fly off and form swarms of thousands in which they mate! Adults do not feed and spend their short, 3-5 day lives mating!

Non-biting Midges - Chironomidae Family

I love this close-up photo of non-biting midges! Although it looks like these midges have four pairs of wings, they really only have one pair that functions and looks like wings. Because midges move so quickly and erratically, I couldn't slow down their movement enough to capture a photograph of their one pair of wings! 

Midges have another pair of wings, but they are tiny and  knob-like organs called halteres that help with stability. The yellow arrow is pointing to one of these halteres! This image is off of Creekman.com, which is the work of KEN W. DAVIS WILDLIFE MEDIA.

Northern Pygmy-Owl - Glaucidium gnoma 

While I was watching the Non-biting Midges, a small bird flew by and landed on the top of one of the pine trees! I quickly zoomed in with my camera and was super surprised to discover that it was a Northern Pygmy Owl! It only stayed on the tree top for a few seconds, then flew down to the dry grasses on the slope and disappeared among them! Wow!!! It must have spotted a rodent! Soon after that it flew away with something in its talons and disappeared in the trees! This all happened in less than half a minute! I was super thrilled to have seen it! I haven't seen a Northern Pygmy-Owl for a year or more! 

Northern Pygmy-Owl (adult) with Dark-eyed Junco

Glaucidium gnoma - Junco hyemalis

Unlike most owls, Northern Pygmy-Owls are diurnal (active during the day). They prey on small birds and mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. They perch and drop down on their prey, and often take prey up to 3x their size!  I took the above photo several winters ago. A Northern Pygmy-Owl had taken advantage of the birds at our bird feeder, and had caught a Dark-eyed Junco that was feeding there! Although they have a different body shape than songbirds, they are about the same length as many songbirds!

Great Horned Owl and Northern Pygmy-Owl size comparison

(not a real photo)

I made the fake photo above, to show you the approximate size difference between a Northern Pygmy Owl and a Great Horned Owl, the only two owls I've ever observed in my neighborhood. Pygmy Owls are quite small for an owl, measuring 6.3-7.1" in length (including tail), with a wingspan of 12", and a weight of 2.5 oz. Great Horned Owls are much larger, measuring 22" in length, with a wingspan of 44", and a weight of 3.1lbs!

Red-tailed Hawk (adult) - Buteo jamaicensis

I checked the same slope for four more days but never saw the Northern Pygmy-Owl again. However, a Red-tailed Hawk was there on two of the days! Red-tailed Hawks are classified as "buteos" which are medium to large, stout bodied hawks, with broad wings and fan shaped tails. Many species have a variety of color phases. Their diet consists primarily of small mammals.

 Red-tailed Hawks are large birds with a wingspan of 49", a length of 19", and a weight of 2.4lbs. They hunt in meadows and fields for small mammals, snakes, lizards, and other birds. They use the perch-and-wait method of hunting. Once prey is sighted they will drop from their perch, flap-and-glide downward, thrust their legs forward when about 3m from prey, and grab prey with their feet.

American Kestrel (male) - Falco sparverius

Starting about five years ago, and continuing for several consecutive years, an American Kestrel perched in the pine trees on this open slope. However, it has been notably absent during the past three years. They are so beautifully feathered!

American Kestrels prefer to hunt in wide open, grassy fields. They are the smallest falcon in North America, measuring 9" in length, with a wingspan of 22", and a weight of 4.1oz. Their diet consists primarily of insects and small rodents such as: grasshoppers, beetles, dragonflies, scorpions, spiders, butterflies, moths, voles, mice, shrews, bats, snakes, lizards, frogs, and small songbirds! In the winter there aren't many insects or lizards around, so it was probably hunting for rodents on the slope. 

Ladybird Beetles - Hippodamia convergence

Another insect that is visible in the winter are Ladybird Beetles. Thousands of them arrived in our neighborhood more than a month ago. Usually they are in the crevices of tree trunks, on the ground underneath shrubs, among pine needles on the forest floor, or on the stems of leafless plants. They congregate in the Fall to mate, and then become inactive when the temperatures cool. They will stay here all winter! The name "Ladybug" is a misnomer, as these insects are not "true bugs".

Common Goldeneyes (males) - Bucephala clangula

In the North Yuba River, which flows past the Open Slope, the Common Goldeneyes have just arrived! I have seen four gorgeous males, but no females yet! They are so strikingly handsome!  They are diving ducks, and I love watching them "swim" underwater!

Sometimes they show up in the end of December, sometimes in January, or sometimes as late as early February! They usually stay around until April or even May before they head north for their breeding grounds in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska. They prefer the forests as they are tree cavity nesters, like Buffleheads, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and Common Mergansers!  In California, Common Goldeneyes are the only ducks that regularly spend the winter on rivers and lakes above the foothills of the western Sierra.

Common Merganser (male) - Mergus merganser

Two weeks ago, just before the rainy weather I was totally surprised to see one male Common Merganser and three females on the river! They aren't usually here at this time of year! The warm weather probably lured them up from lower elevations.

Common Merganser (male, females) - Mergus merganser

I haven't seen them since the rainy weather happened! Hopefully, they went back down to their regular winter habitat in California's Central Valley.

Club Coral Fungus - Clavariadelphus occidentalis

On another note, the fungi population is still thriving!  I've come across some real unusual looking fungi in the forest in the past two weeks!

Saddle-shaped False Morel - Gyromitra infula

Again, I must state that you shouldn't eat a mushroom unless an expert mycologist tells you that it is edible. Field guides can lead you astray. 

What's blooming?

Are there any other insects out and about?

What's it look like in the Lakes Basin?

Check back in two weeks, on January 31st, for the answers to these questions and more!

Your comments and questions are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com

Winter Wetlands!

The Sutter Buttes from the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area

We had heavy rain over the past two weeks. In fact 14.31" fell in five days!!! Our total rainfall for the two weeks was 16.82", bringing our Water Year Total to 34.10", which is equivalent to more than half of our annual rainfall!!! There were a few breaks between storms, during which we managed to get to three different wetlands.

Gray Lodge Wildlife Area

The first one we visited was the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, down in California's Central Valley. As you can see in the above photo, it was a foggy, overcast day. Surprisingly, we were the only visitors there! To our delight we walked the three mile loop with only birds for company! 

 

Snow Geese - Anser caerulescens

Probably the main reason that there were no other visitors there was the lack of Snow Geese in the wetlands. Usually there are thousands of them, but this year we only saw them fly overhead. None of them landed! They were headed south, so maybe they went down to the Sacramento Delta. I couldn't find any reasons for this change on the internet. We plan to revisit Gray Lodge later this month, and hope the Snow Geese will be here then. I'll keep you posted.

Great Egret - Ardea alba

The cloudy, gray, overcast created a soft even light over the whole preserve, making it super easy to get good wildlife photos! This scene of a Great Egret and an island of tules was particularly striking. Great Egrets are large, wading birds. They are 39" tall, with a wingspan of 51". In the shallow waters of Gray Lodge, they hunt for crustaceans, dragonflies, damselflies, giant water bugs, grasshoppers, frogs, tadpoles, birds, and fish.

Black-crowned Night Heron (adult) - Nycticorax nycticorax

We also saw several adult Black-crowned Night-Herons! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states, on their website at https://birdsoftheworld.org/:

"Black-crowned Night-Herons are opportunists feeders that eat many kinds of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine animals. Their diet includes leeches, earthworms, insects, crayfish, clams, mussels, fish, amphibians, lizards, snakes, turtles, rodents, birds, and eggs. They also eat carrion, plant materials, and garbage from landfills. Rather than stabbing their prey, they grasp it in their bills. Black-crowned Night-Herons normally feed between evening and early morning, avoiding competition with other heron species that use the same habitat during the day. They may feed during the day in the breeding season, when they need extra energy for nesting."

Black-crowned Night Heron (juvenile) 

Nycticorax nycticorax

When I first spotted the stocky bird pictured above, I didn't know what it was. When I got home, I used iNaturalist.org to identify it, and found out it was a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron!  How cool! I've never seen a juvenile before! Juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons don't get their adult feathers until there 2nd or 3rd year! The following information about this subject is from the website at https://www.heronconservation.org.

"Juveniles have brown plumage, very different from that of the adults (McVaugh 1972). The head and upper parts are grey brown with buff, white, or rufous spots. Lores are green and the irises are orange yellow to brown red, changing to red at 2-3 years. The stout bill is dark and horn. The upper bill is black with yellow or green sides, becoming black with green sides at one year. The lower bill is horn, turning yellow with horn tip or yellow green with black tip about 1 year, and black by 2 years. Upper wing is grey brown with lighter spots; flight feathers are grey brown with white tips. Upper tail coverts brown. Rump is grey brown streaked with white. Tail is grey. Under parts are grey with dark brown streaks. The legs are yellow green to olive green, turning yellow by 2 years. By the age of one year, the juvenile is still has a brown wash, brown cap and back, with some spots remaining and striped below (Davis 1999). Older juveniles (2-3 years) gradually take on adult characters, becoming more solidly dark above with the spots disappearing and lighter below, with some remnant brown feathers persisting on the head, back or wings."

Black-crowned Night Heron (juvenile) - Nycticorax nycticorax

This adult Black-crowned Night Heron was just across the pond from the adult pictured above. Adult male and female Black-crowned Night Herons are monomorphic (look the same). 

Green Heron (adult) - Butorides virescens

Every year we see Green Herons at Gray Lodge, and this year was not an exception! We came across several of them in the first section of the trail, walking around on the Parrot Feather plants!

Green Heron (adult) - Butorides virescens

As I watched this one adult, it quickly snapped up a frog from among the plants! Wow! Although fish are their primary food source, Green Herons also eat leeches; earthworms; aquatic and terrestrial insects such as adult and larval dragonflies, damselflies, waterbugs, diving beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, katydids ); spiders; crayfish, crabs, prawns; snails; frogs, toads, tadpoles, and newts; snakes and lizards; and rodents!!!

Pied-billed Grebe (adult) - Podylimbus podiceps

We also came across a Pied-billed Grebe holding a fish!!! I didn't recognize it because it was in its non-mating colors! Pied-billed Grebes eat crayfish, aquatic insects, leeches, frog, tadpoles and fish. This particular Grebe kept dropping and picking up the fish, again and again. Perhaps it was waiting for it to die!

Common Gallinule (adult) - Gallinula chloropus

There were lots of these Common Gallinules in the wetlands. Surprisingly seeds and snails are their most important foods! Commonly eats seeds of aquatic and terrestrial grasses, smartweeds, and pondweeds; duckweeds; flowers, seeds, and vegetative material of water lily; and seeds and vegetative material of various other aquatic plants. They also eat , beetles, true bugs, ants and wasps, true flies , spiders, crustaceans, dragonflies and damselflies, leeches, and moss animals!

Gray Lodge Wildlife Area

We reluctantly left in the late afternoon, when the clouds and sunlight were putting on a show, with plans to return soon! 

View north of Sierra Valley, from the vicinity of the Steel Bridge

Sierra Valley

The second wetland we visited Sierra Valley, which was absolutely beautiful with the recently fallen snow! Luckily for us the temperatures warmed up between storms, and the roads weren't snowy or icy and travel was easy and safe! Yay! We drove out to the Steel Bridge and saw some amazing wildlife!

Red-winged Blackbirds - Agelaius phoeniceus

On the way there we stopped and observed a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds repeatedly perching on the barbed wire fencing, and then taking off all at once in a synchronized group! Just fabulous to watch!

Red-winged Blackbirds - Agelaius phoeniceus

I didn't know that they would stay in the Valley during the winter! In the winter they primarily eat seeds, and insects if available. Since the ground wasn't covered in snow, they were probably able to find enough seeds to eat. I imagine if the snow gets deep, they will migrate south to snow-free areas.

The Steel Bridge with a Bald Eagle Presiding!

As we drove up to the Steel Bridge I met two birders driving by. They stopped and said that there was a Bald Eagle on a telephone pole just before the Steel Bridge. So we walked down there, and sure enough the Bald Eagle was still there! WOW!!! We slowly approached it on the road, and were able to get some beautiful photos!

Bald Eagle - Haliaeeteus lucocephalus

Bald Eagles are BIG raptors! They are 31" in length, with a wingspan of 80"!!! When we got about 50 feet away from it, it took off to the south. Immediately another Bald Eagle flew up from the ground and joined this one!!! Together they flew off into the distance! Wow! What a beautiful sight! Bald Eagles mate for life, so this may have been a mated pair!!

Bald Eagles eat fish, waterfowl and water birds (Herons, Coots, etc), small mammals (Muskrats, Rabbits, Ground Squirrels), and carrion (large mammals). How lucky we were to see two Bald Eagles that day!

River Otter with fish in its mouth - Lontra canadensis

Another surprise sighting was a River Otter!  We were driving near the Steel Bridge when I spotted a River Otter with a large fish in its mouth swimming below us! We stopped the car, jumped out, and watched it swim to shore, haul the fish out of the water, and eat it!!! WOW!!! This incredible sighting probably lasted for five minutes or so! I have been to the Steel Bridge many, many  times over many years and have never seen a River Otter there! I was totally thrilled, and of course took a ton of photos!

River Otter hauling a fish out of the water - Lontra canadensis

River Otter positioning its captured fish - Lontra canadensis

River Otter eating a fish - Lontra canadensis

A video of the River Otter eating a fish!

River Otter heading out after eating most of its fish! 

It was so exciting to see this River Otter! How privileged we were watch it!!!

Northern Harrier (female) - Circus hudsonius

There were also several Northern Harriers skimming over the tops of the grasses, tules, and sagebrush, searching for prey. They are a medium size raptor, measuring 18" in length, with a wingspan of 43", and a weight of 15 oz. They eat medium to small birds and mammals, as well as reptiles and frogs. Unlike other raptors, they rely on auditory clues from their owl-like facial disc of feathers, which helps them locate prey acoustically! They can be found in Sierra Valley year-round.

Since it was 38 degrees we opted to eat lunch in our car. While we were there, a Northern Harrier flew down the road right towards us, and passed us at eye level just outside the car windows!!! I was in its usual hunting position, with its wings spread wide and its head looking down at the ground!!! It was amazing to see one so closely!! I'll never forget that sighting!!!

Northern Harrier (female) - Circus hudsonius

I didn't get a close-up photo of a Northern Harrier that day. The ones pictured above were taken on previous trips to Sierra Valley. The first one really shows the facial disc of feathers!  What beautiful raptors!

Northern Harrier pursuing Red-winged Blackbirds

From the Steel Bridge area we toured around Sierra Valley to the east before we reluctantly had to head home. It was truly an unforgettable day out in this beautiful, big-sky valley!  Hope we go back again soon!

The Sutter Buttes from the Marysville Rice Fields

The Marysville Rice Fields

The third wetlands we went to were the Marysville Rice Fields!  I'd been meaning to go there before the big rain storms, but didn't make it. So we went down a few days after all the storms. The fields were mainly full to the brim, and there weren't a lot of birds in them. We did luck out however, and saw quite a few Tundra Swans and some Greater White-fronted Geese!

Tundra Swans - Cygnus columbianus

Tundra Swans breed in the arctic and come down to California's Central Valley for the winter! These large swans have 7' wingspans, are about 4.5' tall, and can weigh up to 16 lbs.! Like Bald Eagles, they mate for life. When feeding, they do not dive, but submerge their heads to forage for the leaves, stems, seeds, and tubers of aquatic plants, such as rice. 

Tundra Swans couple with offspring - Cygnus columbianus

We saw several young swans in the company of their parents. Apparently they remain with their parents during their first year, and then associate to some degree for up to three more years.

Greater White-fronted Geese - Anser albifrons

Greater White-fronted Geese also migrate down from the arctic to spend the winter in the Central Valley. They feed on marsh grasses, sedges, berries, and seeds from agricultural crops. They are primarily diurnal feeders, and roost on wetlands at night. 

We usually also see White-faced Ibis, ducks, shorebirds, and raptors when we visit the rice fields, but not this year! Hopefully we'll check them again in the near future! 

What the heck is this?

What's happening on the River?

Check back in two weeks, on January 17th, for the answers to these questions and more!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated, please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thank you!

Another Year!

Virginia Rail - Rallus limicola

Nine years ago, on December 23, 2016, I started this blog! Like last year, due to my husbands health, I wasn't able to get out and explore as much as usual. Whatever time I got outside was a gift! Each moment spent hiking, photographing, and observing nature was treasured. Birds, wildflowers, mammals, insects, and herptiles continued to amaze me! Clouds and their accompanying landscapes brought me much joy, over and over again. It was another great year, for which I am so grateful! Below are photo-composites of some of the incredible beauty that I was so privileged to see this year!

This year I had an astounding 59,064 hits (37,529 more than last year!!!) on my blog, from 90 different countries (20 more than last year)!!! Thanks go to all of you for your continued interest in my blog!

Landscapes: I am so lucky to have these extraordinary wild areas to explore!

Sunset looking west in Sierra Valley

View of the Sutter Buttes from the Spenceville Wildlife Area

Mount Elwell and Long Lake in the Lakes Basin

Howard Meadow in the Lakes Basin

Sunset looking east in Sierra Valley

Birds:  I find Bird Watching mesmerizing! I love seeing familiar birds return every year, as well encountering new species!  This year I was lucky to closely observe a Virginia Rail and a Sora in Sierra Valley! I have seen both of these birds before for fleeting moments, but this year they stayed in view for a minute or more!  I was also thrilled to see a Pileated Woodpecker in our neighborhood for the first time, as well as a small flock of Western Bluebirds bathing in a puddle!!! I was delighted to see a Common Merganser and her young on the river once again. They raise their young in our neighborhood every year!  Down in Gray Lodge we saw a juvenile Night-crowned Heron and Common Gallinules for the first time ever! The Gallinules were probably there before, but I had mis-identified them as coots!

Common Merganser (female) with ducklings

Sora (adult) - Rock Wren (adult)

Pileated Woodpecker (male) - Black-crowned Night Heron (juvenile)

Western Bluebirds bathing - (males & females)

White-faced Ibis (adult) - Marsh Wren (adult)

Wood Duck (female) - Common Gallinule (adult)

Black-crowned Night Heron (adult)

Mammals:  Mammals are never numerous in our area, so they are always a delight to see. This year I was astonished to see 11 Pronghorns in Sierra Valley. When we first came upon them they were reclining on the edge of an irrigated alfalfa field! It was a group of 10 females and 1 male, during mating season!!! I was also thrilled to see a Muskrat near the Steel Bridge! We also saw two Coyotes in the Spenceville Wildlife Preserve! Down in Gray Lodge Wildlife Area an Audubon's Cottontail and a Black-tailed Jackrabbit showed up briefly! In the Lakes Basin, a Marmot was sunning himself in a area where we have consistently seen one before! And in my neighborhood, I managed to see several Mule Deer, a young Black Bear, and a Gray Fox! Unfortunately, my cat caught a Trowbridge's Shrew, but it was a delight to look at.

Pronghorns - 1 male and 10 females

Trowbridge's Shrew (two views)

Coyote - Gray Fox

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Mule Deer (doe) - Muskrat

Audubon's Cottontail - Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Black Bear

Wildflowers: This year was dryer than the past two years, so the wildflower bloom wasn't as profuse. However, there were still lots and lots of wildflowers in the Lakes Basin, down at North Table Mountain Ecological Preserve, and in Sierra Valley. Bridgeport/South Yuba River State Park and the Spenceville Wildlife Area, were also carpeted in Spring blooms! Such beauty!

Sierra Primrose

Anderson's Thistle in bud - Showy Penstemon

Wild Azalea - Bitterroot

Crimson Columbine with inset of Anna's Hummingbird

Fireweed - Leopard Lily

Sierra Downingia - Alpine Shooting Star

Sky Lupine and Goldfields (in background)

Small Critters:  This year I've combined my insect and herptile sightings in one photo-composite. This year, on walks with my husband, I explored an area near our neighborhood many times in the winter. To my delight I came across an uncommon Sierra Ensatina there! These lovely, tiny salamanders are difficult to find, as they need a damp environment to survive, and are usually out of sight under dead tree bark, or duff on the forest floor! On North Table Mountain Ecological Preserve there was a large variety of pollen eating beetles! In the river, I was startled to see two Sacramento Suckers swimming along! In the Lakes Basin I encountered a Sierra Gartersnake for the first time ever! It's all amazing to me!

Two Common Checkered Clerid Beetles and one Blister Beetle 

Feather Millipede - Sierra Ensatina

Sierra Mountain Kingsnake

Sacramento Suckers

Sierra Gartersnake

Sierra Newt - Western Pond Turtle

Cucumber Beetle

I am so looking forward to another year of hiking and exploring our incredible natural world, and am SO grateful that I still CAN!

Check back in two weeks, on January 3rd, for my next blog post.

Happy Holidays and Best wishes for the New Year to all of you!